


Just Can't Wait

by Fandaround



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 13:39:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18389534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandaround/pseuds/Fandaround
Summary: Because I just can't wait for season 3.





	Just Can't Wait

 

_ Knockknock,knockknockknock...knock...knock...knock. Knock. _

 

The door opened in front of Mike opened while his knuckles were still raised to the wood. “You did it wrong again,” was El’s amused greeting. She turned around on the sofa to roll her eyes at him.

“Wha-still? I did it right...didn’t I?” he dropped his backpack and kicked the door shut behind him.

“Nnnnnope,” she grinned. “You forgot one at the end.”

“Whatever, you knew it was me, didn’t you?” Mike flopped down next to her and passed her a book. “Here, it’s from the library. It’s the only thing I found that looked like it had anything to do with brain science stuff,” he offered apologetically. “Maybe I can check Hawkins library soon. They might have more on it than the school has.”

“That would be good,” El smiled. “Thank you for finding this,” she leaned over to give him a shy peck on the cheek. 

“Hey, enough of that!” Hopper’s voice boomed from the back room and Mike jumped away, making both Hopper and El laugh. 

“S-sorry! Uh-”

“No hanky-panky in my house, d’ya understand?” Hopper’s voice boomed as he moved to the kitchen.

“No! No, sir. Nothing like that.” Mike squeezed his eyes shut for a moment in embarrassment and ran his hands over his beet red face. “Jesus,” he muttered, looking to El for help but only finding her holding back giggles.

“You kids ready t’ eat or what?”

“Yeah, I’m  _ starving _ ,” El leaped up, tugging Mike with her to the table, where the three of them barely squeezed in front of their trays. 

“Thank you for dinner, Mr. Hopper.”

“You’re welcome,” he returned, a tiny smile. “Do me a favor and find El a book that isn’t about brains, huh?”

“But I need to figure out how-”

“You need a  _ break _ from brains,” Jim cut her off. “I’m not saying give up. I mean, Jesus, kid-I’m just saying, don’t you ever read for fun?”

“It  _ is  _ fun,” El insisted.

Hopper rolled his eyes and looked to Mike. “What kind of books do you read for fun?”

“Um-the library just got Pawn of Prophecy in. I’m still on the waiting list for it, but it’s supposed to be great.” At the two blank looks he tried to explain. “Um-I like fantasy novels. Wizards and dragons and adventures... stuff like that...”

“That sounds almost as bad as brain stuff,”Jim sighed, and popped a piece of chicken into his mouth as El and Mike shared a look.

 

They finished eating and Jim went back to the sofa to watch the news while he and El stayed at the table sharing oreos.

“I don’t know,” Mike was telling her, his voice low. “Will’s talking more, but he still isn’t like he used to be. Maybe he won’t ever be the same.”

“How is he not the same?” El asked, just as quiet.

“I don’t know, it’s hard to explain,” Mike shrugged awkwardly. “He’s kind of scared easy. The other day the bell went off for class and he jumped so bad. James and Troy saw him do it and they’ve started trying to jump out and scare him.”

“The mouthbreathers?” El struggled to remember who James and Troy were.

“Yeah, the ones you chased off at the quarry,” Mike laughed a little at the memory. “They’re being real dicks to Will, but they won’t do anything unless he’s alone. They’re afraid to start a fight if me or one of the other guys is with him. Even Max,” he added, chuckling.

“Hop says I can start school next year and that I’ll be in the same classes as you and Will,” El told him. “And once  _ I’m _ there, I won’t let  _ anyone _ bully Will.”

Mike raised his brows. “You’re scary when you’re...scary.”

El just rolled her eyes.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“So,  _ your  _ sister is like...dating  _ your  _ brother now?” Lucas asked pointing at Mike, then Will in turn. “Like...actually dating?”

The guys and Max all turned to where Nancy and Jonathan were cozied up at her locker. “Um...yeah,” Mike shrugged awkwardly. “I guess.” Farther down the hallway, he saw Steve Harrington notice the couple and promptly look away, slamming his locker shut and slinking off in the other direction.

“Nancy’s been coming over a lot,” Will offered. “Mom really likes her.”

“Way to go, Jonathan,” Dustin grinned, earning a slap to the back of the head from Mike.

“Dude, that’s my  _ sister _ ,” he narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, and your sister’s  _ cool _ ,” Dustin said. His voice cracked a little in his excitement.

“You think she’s hot,” Max accused, scrunching up her nose.

“He totally thinks she’s hot,” Lucas laughed.

“Shut  _ up _ ,” Mike ran his hands over his face and threw up his hands. “God! I’m done talking about this. I’m going to class,” he told them, and turned on his heel. Will bit his lip to conceal a laugh and followed him, jogging the first few steps to catch up.

“Hey, um-” Will adjusted his backpack awkwardly. “So I was thinking…”

“What’s up?” Mike prompted.

Will leaned in to speak quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was paying too close attention to their conversation. “Well, it’s just that...my mom knows about El. And Jonathan knows too, so I thought that it might be nice if we asked the Chief to see if she’s allowed to come over sometimes. I mean-if she wants to. But...I don’t want to have her over if you think that’s weird, since you two are...whatever. I just wanted to ask you first, but-yeah…”

Mike furrowed his brows, shrugging. “No, I think that’s a good idea, actually.”

“You do?” Will looked surprised.

“Yeah, I mean-I’ll bet she gets bored of seeing nobody but me and the Chief. She’s going to start school next year too, so I started showing her my homework, but you might be better than I am at explaining things,” Mike smiled. “So she doesn’t get behind, you know? I was going to ride over there after school today so I’ll then.”

“Cool,” Will grinned.

“You want to come with? I’m sure they wouldn’t care.”

“I would, but my mom might freak. She’s been a little...well, you know-” Will frowned.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Mike backtracked. “I get it. No big deal. I’ll ask the Chief to call your mom.”

“Yeah, she probably won’t say ‘no’ to him.”

Mike grinned, but they let the conversation go as they walked into the classroom where they were much more likely to be overheard.   
  
  


Steve sagged against the brick wall, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket just as the bell rang. He was officially late for first period, but he wasn’t in any hurry as he lit up. Steve dragged through half the cigarette as he contemplated if he’d rather go to class, where he would have to see Nancy and Jonathan all day, or if he should just play hooky and hide out outside of town until dinner. The decision may as well have been made for him when he heard the door open to his right.

Steve stepped behind the corner of the building, just in case it was a teacher, but looked back around when he realized that it was some couple sneaking off to make out. At a glance, he catalogued that it wasn’t just  _ some _ couple, but that it was Nancy and Jonathan, up against the brick with their mouths plastered together and hands- Steve groaned inwardly and took a long drag, then flicked his cigarette out into the grass as he set off in the direction of the parking lot. He had abandoned all attempts at stealth, but Nancy and Jonathan didn’t notice him leave any more than they had noticed that he’d been there in the first place. 

Steve slammed his car door shut and revved the engine just to let out some frustration before he peeled out of the lot and barrelled toward back roads. He only realized too-late that the route he’d chosen was taking him right past Nancy’s house, and Steve scowled as he rounded the corner nearing their house and he almost hit the accelerator at full force on the straightaway, but a flash of color made him slow down. 

There was a Camaro at the end of the street-a very familiar Camaro-and it was parked between the Madison’s and the Kurtz’ yards even though both houses looked empty. Steve glanced at the Wheeler house as he drove past instead and nearly swerved onto the sidewalk when he caught a glimpse of Billy Hargrove swaggering over to the side door, where Mrs. Wheeler was leaning against the frame. Steve looked long enough to know that Mr. Wheeler’s car wasn’t in the driveway and that Mrs. Wheeler didn’t seem to be turning Billy away anytime soon, then forced his eyes back to the road and pushed his foot down, flying past the street. 

“Fuck’s sake,” he growled to the empty car, and punched the radio until it blasted AC/DC loud enough to make his head pound. He reached for a cigarette and pulled the last one out of the pack, crushing the box in frustration when he realized that he was going to have to drive back to town.   
  
  


“Harrington,” Steve froze in the snack aisle of Melvalds, where he’d been trying to decide between Cheetos or Doritos. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

Steve turned to face Jim Hopper with a sigh, cramming a can of Tab under his arm so that he could pick up both bags. “I wasn’t feeling school today,” he told the chief.

“Yeah? Well, I’m not feeling work today but here I am,” he crossed his arms.

Steve groaned. “Look, I  _ tried _ to go this morning, honest. Went to my locker and everything.”

“And yet  _ somehow _ you ended up here.”

Steve frowned, trying to decide what story would get him off the hook easiest, but eventually honesty won out. “It’s Nancy,” he admitted. At the chief’s raised brow he explained, “Wheeler. She’s always just... _ there _ . With-“ Steve glanced at the register where Joyce Byers was flicking through a magazine. “They’re always around and it’s like…”

“Right. Your ex is dating Jonathan now. And it’s so heartbreaking that you can’t make it through the school day.” Steve eyed the chief miserably, trying to flesh out a story in his defense, but Hopper just let out a rough chuckle. “I had no idea you were such a _delicate_ _flower_ , Harrington. Go to fucking school tomorrow, got it?”

Steve nodded defeatedly and searched for a pack of Devil Dogs until the Chief had finished checking out.

“Pack of Marlboro Reds too,” He told Joyce, dumping his snacks on the checkout counter. She eyed him for a moment, but handed them over without protesting his age. She kept glancing distractedly at Hopper’s truck as it pulled away.

“Have a good day, Ms. Byers,” he told her as he shoved his change back into his wallet. 

“Oh, you too, honey,” she returned, still a little flustered. 

He grabbed his haul and went for the door, where someone was just opening it from the outside. Bethany Gescheidler looked up at him with a wide smile. “Hey, Harrington. You ditching too?”

He blinked. Bethany was nice. She wasn’t really popular at school but she was cute, with a big blonde perm and thick eyelashes. “Bethany,” he said, surprised to see her. “Yeah, You too?”

She grimaced, “Getting my wisdom teeth out.”

“Oh.”

“You’re....actually just  _ ditching _ ?” She giggled a little.

“Ah-sort of,” Steve mumbled.

“Right. Well-um, I’d better get my stuff,” she smiled again. “See you around?”

“Yeah, see you around,” he gave her a tiny smile and went back to the car, where he plopped down in the driver's seat for a cigarette. Through the store window, he watched Bethany smile at Joyce only a little less enthusiastically as she’d smiled at him. 

He used to make fun of Bethany with Tommy and Carol. She had been really awkward a couple of years ago, mostly because she had a huge chest and the rest of her body was as flat as a board. Steve could still see that a little. She certainly didn’t look as awkward as she once had, but a long look told him that she was still a little disproportioned.

Steve finished his cigarette just as she was coming back outside, bag in hand, to the Pontiac Phoenix parked a couple of spaces down where her mother was waiting for her. Bethany flashed Steve one last flirtatious smile as they drove away, and he returned it halfheartedly.

 

* * *

  
  


_ Knockknock,knockknockknock...knock...knock...knock. Knockknock _

 

Jonathan opened the front door, chuckling at the enthusiastic entrance. “Hey,” he greeted Chief Hopper and El. “Come in,” he told them. “ _ Mom! _ ” he yelled down the hall. “ _ Mom, the Chief’s here! _ ” There was a crash from his mother’s room and she swore, but she came rushing out of her room with a smile. Jonathan also noticed that she was wearing eyeshadow that she hadn’t had on earlier and a different shirt. “Mom, why are you-?”

“Hey!” she cut him off to greet the Chief and El. “How are you, honey?” she pulled El in for a hug.

“Good,” she grinned.

“Go ahead back to Will’s room,” she told El. “Mike’s already here.”

“El!” Mike grinned at her from where he sat on the floor next to Will’s bed.

“Hey, El,” Will laughed a little at Mike’s over enthusiastic greeting.

“Hey, I have a couple of books for you,” Mike dug around in his backpack. “Here,” he tossed them on the bed. “Just give them back when you’re done and I’ll sneak them back to my house.”

“What are you  _ reading _ ?” Will’s face went a little red as he glanced at the covers. “‘ _ Savage Heart’  _ and...‘ _ Sword of the Golden Stud _ ’?” he gaped at Mike incredulously.

“What?” Mike’s face went red. “The Chief suggested that I bring some novels and...I just picked up a few of my mom’s books. She won’t even know they’re missing.”

“They’re...uh-different,” El picked up  _ Savage Heart _ and stared at the cover.

“They’re romance novels or whatever,” Mike shrugged. “Girl stuff.”

“That guy is naked,” Will pointed out, still flabergasted. “And ‘ _ Sword of the Golden Stud’ _ ?  _ Seriously _ ?”

“What? I don’t know, he’s probably like, some kind of warrior or something. I don’t know.”

“Right,” Will replied skeptically, his face flaming. On the cover was a woman sat down on her knees between the spread legs of a man who held some sort of whip in his hand.

Mike shrugged uncomfortably. “Whatever. I’m going to go to the big library tomorrow,” he told El, “See if I can find the books you’re looking for.”

“Okay,” she smiled, finally looking up from the books. Mike and Will, however, were looking over her shoulder. 

“Hey,” Jonathan leaned in the doorway, smirking. “Did you see mom?” he asked quietly.

Will furrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah…?” he answered uncertainly.

“No, I mean-did you see she put on her  _ nice _ clothes? And makeup,” he grinned conspiratorially, glancing out at the living room just as Joyce let out a nervous laugh, followed by Hopper’s booming one.

“Oh-she’s been in her room for a while. I think she was doing her hair.”

“Exactly!” Jonathan made a face that Will didn’t get.

“Does..does she have a date tonight?” Mike asked, confused. 

El giggled. “Will’s mom likes Hop,” she blurted.

“ _ What _ ?” Will looked at Jonathan, but he was nodding frantically. “Oh my  _ god _ !”

“Shhh!” Jonathan laughed. “It’s fine. The Chief’s nice.”

“Didn’t he arrest you once?” Mike stared at him, bewildered.

“Well,” he looked a little embarrassed, “It wasn’t actually the Chief.”

“Wait- _ what _ ?” Will looked at his brother with wide eyes. “You got _ arrested _ while I was gone?”

“Oh-I guess I didn’t think to tell you,” Jonathan frowned. “It wasn’t a big deal, it’s not like they pressed any charges or anything. I punched Harrington, that’s all. I wasn’t even  _ technically _ arrested.”

“Technically? What does that even  _ mean _ ?” Mike rolled his eyes. 

“Well, they cuffed me but it’s not like I was in a cell or anything.”

“Oh my god, my brother’s a  _ criminal _ .”

“Am _ not _ ,” Jonathan laughed a little. “Besides, Harrington was being an asshole. He totally deserved it.”

“I missed  _ so _ much,” Will sighed.

“Yeah,” Jonathan crossed his arms awkwardly, and all the lightheartedness seemed to be sucked out of the room. “ Well, everyone was sort of a mess without you around, so…”

“It’s true,” Mike offered, after a moment of silence.

“Thanks,” Will replied weakly.

“Well...uh-I’ll see you later,” Jonathan told them, and disappeared back to his room.

“It’s weird, him dating your sister,” Will said quietly.

“Yeah,” Mike said. “I know.”

“If Hop and your mom date, would it be weird?” El asked.

Will fideted his hands, picking at a hangnail. “I don’t know. Maybe?” he swallowed. “But Chief Hopper  _ is _ nice, even if he’s kinda scary sometimes, and-I guess my mom sort of...deserves someone nice, doesn’t she? Even if it’s weird for us. I mean, after everything…”

“I guess you’re right,” Mike nodded.

“Yeah,” El agreed. There was a moment of silence, broken by Mike’s stomach growling.

“You...wanna see if we can order pizza?” Will asked.

“Yes!” Mike jumped up, ginning again.

 

They eventually ended up eating pizza and watching a movie in the living room with everyone, and since Nancy had shown up as they were sliding  _ Footloose _ into the VCR, ‘everyone’ meant Joyce and Jim, Nancy and Jonathan, Mike and El, and then Will. It wasn’t as awkward as it could have been, and his mom and the Chief weren’t even really dating, but Will still felt a little like the third wheel, or maybe the seventh. He sat on the floor a little farther away from Mike than he usually would have, not wanting to see how El buried her laughter in Mike’s shoulder, or ow they held hands for the entire night. Plus, he  _ hated _ the movie.

After the credits were over, Will went to the VCR to rewind the tape. “Thanks for dinner and everything,” Nancy told Joyce, after she’d finished whispering goodnight to Jonathan in the hallway. “I’d better get home before my mom starts wondering where I am.”

“Of course, honey,” Joyce smiled warmly. “Anytime!”

Nancy thanked her again. “You ready, Mike? “

“I could just bike back,” he shrugged.

Nancy wouldn’t hear it, though. “If mom finds out I was with you and I let you ride home in the dark, past curfew,  _ I’m _ going to get in trouble too.”

“Go with her,” El whispered next to him.

Mike glanced over at her and sighed. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, though,” he told El.

“Yep,” she nodded. Will turned around from the VCR to tell them goodnight just as El leaned over to plant a kiss on Mike’s cheek, which promptly turned red. Will turned back around quickly.

“Goodnight,” Mike’s voice cracked a little and his cleared his throat quickly.

“Goodnight!” a chorus followed. The tape  _ clicked _ and stopped winding, and Will pulled it out to put it back in the sleeve.

Hopper picked up a half-empty pizza box. “We’ll have to get going soon, too. I’ll help you clean up first, though.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Joyce dismissed, but Hopper followed her to the kitchen anyways, asking where the foil was to wrap up the leftovers.

“Are you okay, Will?” El asked, and he almost jumped. He was still sitting in front of the VCR, staring at the tape.

“Huh? Yeah,” he breathed, then cleared his throat as he got up and started for his room. “I’m fine.”

She hesitated. “Okay...I need my books,” she told him and he nodded, motioning for her to follow him back to the bedroom.

“Here,” he passed the books over, sitting on the edge of his bed and carefully avoiding looking at the cover of ‘ _ Savage Heart’ _ .

“You don’t like me being here,” El said quietly, dropping down beside him.

“ _ What- _ ? No, that’s not-”

“It’s okay,” she looked over at him, concerned. “ We can hang out somewhere else. With Dustin and Lucas. And Max,” she added. 

“No, El,” Will sighed. “You can come over anytime. Seriously, I mean it. I-um…I actually suggested it to Mike the other day-that you should come over. And Mike said that since you’re going to be coming to school with us that you’ve started to study with him. You can come over on weekdays while we do homework and stuff. Not that Mike doesn’t do okay in school, but he’s way better at English and History and he  _ really  _ sucks at Math,” Will laughed a little. “I don’t think you want him showing you how to do math.”

El clutched the books in her hands. “That sounds really good,” she said finally. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, “You know...I really didn’t like Max at first.”

Will’s eyebrows rose. “Max? Why not?”

She shrugged sheepishly. “I thought that she liked Mike.  _ Like _ liked.”

“She did?”

El bit her lip in thought, then shook her head. “Not sure. I don’t think so. But I  _ thought _ that she did. And I thought Mike would want to spend all of his time with her.”

“Oh,” Will blinked. “But...what does that-”

“El?” Hopper’s voice floated down the hallway. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she yelled back, standing up.

“Oh-” Will eyed the books, a thought hitting him. “Here,” he grabbed a flannel and took the books, wrapping them up. “Just...the Chief might not want to see you reading those kind of books, okay?” He shoved the bundle back into her hands. “Come back soon!”

She nodded, perplexed at why she should need to hide the books, then smiled. “Thanks,” she leaned in and gave him a quick, one-armed hug before she hurried out to the living room.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“ _ Guys _ ,” Dustin hissed, coming around the corner to where Lucas and Max were standing against the lockers. They stepped apart as Lucas took a deep breath, annoyed. “Dude,  _ look _ ,” he poked his head back around the corner, as Lucas and Max shared a glance and stepped over to where they could see.

“What are we looking at?” Lucas asked, brows furrowed.

“Steve has a new  _ girlfriend _ ,” Dustin said, looking alarmed.

“So what?” Max shrugged. “Why do you care who he dates?”

“It’s just...it’s not  _ Nancy _ .”

Lucas shared another lost look with Max. “Yeah, well, Nancy is dating Jonathan now, remember?”

Max looked back down at the older couple. “Are you sure they’re dating?” she asked.

“Why else would they be hanging out?” Dustin said.

“I dunno,” Max shrugged, “But they don’t look very...couple-y, do they? I mean, he isn’t holding her hand or carrying her books or anything, is he? And he’s not even smiling.”

“He’s just playing it cool,” Dustin defended. “She’s  _ obviously  _ into him.”

Lucas just shrugged. “Whatever, it’s none of  _ my  _ business anyways. Are you coming to bio?”

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Dustin huffed. “Hey, wait-“ he paused to search the hallway. “Where’s Will?”

“Probably already in bio,” Lucas reasoned, but he look a little worried too. “Come on, the bell’s going to ring.”

Will wasn’t in the room, however. Mike was sitting alone at the lab table when they walked in, and he gave them a questioning look.

“Where’s Will?” Mike asked first.

“We hoped you knew,” Dustin started to look really worried. “Did he go to English?”

“Yeah, he was there. He seemed fine,” Max answered. Mike nodded in agreement, then made a quick decision and picked up his backpack. He slipped back towards the door just as the bell rang.

“Mike,” Mr. Clarke appeared in the threshold, frowning at him. “Where are you going? Sit down, please.”

“Do you know where Will is?” Mike blurted.

Mr. Clarke didn’t move from the doorway but he scanned the room before his gaze softened. “Sit down and I’ll go to the office and find him.” he said gently.

Mike eyed him for a moment, hesitating before he turned back around and went to his seat. To Mike’s disappointment, Mr. Clarke started class, beginning with going over the homework. “Come up to the board, write the answer, and we’ll go over them in just a few minutes. I need to step out for a moment. Nobody,” he said sharply, looking at Mike, “is to leave this classroom unless you want to be here on Saturday.”

Mike, of course, was willing to take a detention. As soon as Mr. Clarke’s footsteps receded, he rushed out and down the hall toward where he knew Will’s last class had been.

“Will?” Mike called, trying to retrace his steps. He took the long way that he knew Will usually walked and slipped into the bathroom on that route. “Will, are you in here?”

Mike took two steps in and heard sharp,frantic breaths catch and stop. “Will?” Mike looked under the stall and saw Will’s feet, pulled up off the ground. 

“It’s me, Mike. Will, open the door,” he pleaded, but there was no response but the resumed breathing. He sounded like he was going to hyperventilate. “Will, you’ve got to breathe, okay? Can you unlock the door?”

The breathing only sped up, so Mike did the only thing he could think of. He tossed his backpack down and wriggled up underneath the door, trying not to think about how disgusting the floor was. Will had curled himself up in a ball atop the toilet and flinched when Mike laid a cautious hand on his back.

“Hey,” he breathed. “It’s okay. It’s alright.” Mike tried to comfort him. “Take a deep breath, Will. Ready?” he took a slow, deliberate breath in, then out. “Breath with me,” he encouraged, as Will slowly looked up, eyes unfocused. “In, and out.” He demonstrated again, and Will tried to follow this time, although his breath caught. “Good,” Mike tried to smile. “Again.”

 

Principal Coleman found them like that, locked in the farthest bathroom stall as Mike guided Will through shaky breaths. He looked like he wanted to be angry at Mike, but he didn’t yell. Instead, he suggested that they walk to the nurse’s office and after a relatively calmer Will was situated beside the desk with a blanket, the Principal bid Mike to come to his office.

“Sit down, Mr. Wheeler.”

Mike sunk into a chair, much less nervous than the last time he’d been summoned to the office. He didn’t offer any defense, he just waited for Principal Coleman to start lecturing him.

“Can you tell me why you left Biology?” the Principal asked.

Mike met his gaze across the desk. “Will wasn’t there. I went to find him.”

“Did you know where he was?”

Mike shook his head.

“How did you know to look for him?” Principal Coleman’s words were calm and unaccusing.

“Look, Will still has these episodes,” Mike said. “He didn’t meet up with the other guys in the hall and he didn’t show up for class. He was fine in second period English, so I had to make sure that he was okay.”

“Mike,” he sighed, “I understand that you were worried about your friend. He’s been through a lot and I know that’s hard for you boys too, but I can’t have you running out of class like that. You had already let Mr. Clarke know that you were worried about Mr. Byers, and he came straight down to us to start looking for him.”

“Yeah, but it took you half an hour to find him,” Mike sat up straighter, angry, but not yelling. “If Will’s in there having a panic attack and you don’t find him for  _ half an hour _ , that’s just  _ so _ much longer that he’s sitting there,  _ scared _ and by himself. He was close to passing out when I found him. He was hyperventilating, and if someone hadn’t found him and calmed him down, he probably would have passed out and then he would have gotten hurt on top of everything else!”

Principal Coleman sighed deeply folding his hands in front of him. “I’m afraid I can’t argue with you there,” he said regretfully. “And you stayed calm and did a great job helping your friend, but I’m going to make sure that if we have a repeat of today, we’re more prepared to deal with such a situation. That means that if something like this happens again, you are to alert a staff member, and  _ we _ will deal with everything. It’s important for you to stay in class. Now, I’m not going to punish you for today, but be aware that in the future, you are expected to let the  _ adults _ handle things.” He drilled Mike with an expectant look until Mike nodded in agreement, just barely restraining himself from rolling his eyes. “Good. The nurse is calling Mr. Byers’ mother, so he’s probably going to be sent home for the rest of the day. I suggest that you focus on class now.”

Mike nodded again as Principal Coleman stood to open the office door.

“Good. Go on, Mr. Wheeler,” he ushered him out. “Back to class. And I expect you to apologize to Mr. Clarke.”

**Author's Note:**

> This probably won't be updated further because season three will likely have come out before I manage to write more. Hope you enjoyed!


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